Health Meter: Healthy Fantasy Picks for Week 9

Entering Week 9 of the 2011 NFL season, fantasy football owners are faced with tough calls to make on players that are either coming off of an injury, or are trying to come out of a rehab from the bye week, and needing to determine if it is worth starting them or sitting them down. 

We will look at a number of injured players who appear to be ready to play in Week 9, (as of the time of this publication), and will project how well we think they will fare. If you have a tough call to make on a certain position, and you own some of these players in question, maybe this will help to sway you in which direction to go. Or maybe your starter is on his bye week, and the only waiver wire options are guys coming off an injury. 

For starters, please note that there are only four teams with a bye this week. They are Detroit, Minnesota, Carolina and Jacksonville. We have six teams returning to action this week, as they all had their bye week in Week 8. They are: Tampa Bay, Chicago, Green Bay, Atlanta, Oakland and the New York Jets. 

QB to Start: Sam Bradford

Sam Bradford (ankle sprain) is out of his walking boot now, and the St. Louis Rams need to decide who is starting this week against the Arizona Cardinals. 

A.J. Feeley led the Rams to an upset win over the New Orleans Saints last week, but the future for the Rams is to develop Bradford, not Feeley. Bradford is going up against the Cardinals pass defense, and they are ranked No. 28 in the league. In his last start, Bradford threw for 328 yards against Green Bay. 

Steven Jackson ran the ball well last week, and the Rams now have Brandon Lloyd to serve as a main target for Bradford. The Rams will decide later in the week if Bradford is ready to start, but I think he will get the start and think he tees off on the Cardinals pass defense. 

Fantasy advice: Start him.  

QB to Sit: Kevin Kolb

In that same contest, the Arizona Cardinals have their own quarterback health issue, as Kevin Kolb has developed a case of turf toe. 

On the surface, there isn't that much that separates these two. Kolb throws for 244 yards per game, Bradford 235. Kolb sacked 24 times, Bradford 21. Kolb completes 56 percent of his passes, Bradford 53. 

According to an entry in Rotoworld today, Kolb is not going to play if he thinks he will be hurting the team by doing so. That is not cast in stone, mind you, but the fact is that Kolb has not lit it up this year as the Cardinals were hoping he would. If he already has it in his mind that he won't be helping the team, it means that he probably won't. Stay away. 

Fantasy advice: Sit him.

WR to Start: Julio Jones

Due to an injury to his hamstring, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones had to sit out the Week 7 game against the Detroit Lions. Jones had an opportunity to rest up over the bye week and he returned to practice on Monday this week and declared himself ready to go. 

Jones is going up this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, who are ranked No. 30 in the NFL in pass yards allowed. Jones should have a solid game as the Colts are one of two teams that are allowing over 400 yards of offense per game this year. 

Fantasy advice: Start him.

WR to Sit: Emmanuel Sanders

For the long term, I really like Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. But we are talking about what to do for Week 9, and for that I have to take a different attitude. 

Sanders apparently hurt his knee last week in the victory over New England. It is bad enough that the Steelers want him to have it examined. You know that with the big showdown with Baltimore this weekend, that all the Steelers will do their best to suit up and play. 

But the key here is that Hines Ward appears to be healthy again, and I think Pittsburgh will use his experience here that will cut into Sanders playing time and ultimate fantasy performance. Like I said in the first sentence, I really like Sanders, just not this week. 

Fantasy advice: Sit him. 

TE to Start: Fred Davis

During the Washington Redskins shutout loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, tight end Fred Davis suffered a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter. The injury required Davis to put on a walking boot on Monday to take some pressure off of the ankle. 

The Redskins have very few options to throw the ball to, especially since Santana Moss is gone for the year. Davis has been the leading Redskins receiver for the past three games, and that won't change again this week. 

Davis will likely play this week against the San Francisco 49ers, so if you are unsure about what to do with Davis, start him, as the Redskins proved that they won't be able to run the ball with Tim Hightower out. 

Fantasy advice: Start him. 

TE to Sit: Kevin Boss

When the Oakland Raiders signed Kevin Boss as a free agent to replace the departed Zach Miller, there were high expectations placed on Boss to have a big season. 

Now here we are entering Week 9, and Boss has only managed to come up with eight catches in five games. Boss had been out due to a concussion, but he was able to get medical clearance during the Raiders bye week, so he will be suiting up against the Broncos this week. 

The problem is that we don't know how much the Raiders will be able to turn around their anemic passing attack from the prior nightmare, when the combination of Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer threw six interceptions. We expect to see improvement from whoever starts, but when it comes to Boss, the expectations should still be kept very low. 

Fantasy advice: Sit him.

RB to Start: Mike Tolbert

It is only Week 9, but the San Diego Chargers need to step up with a big performance this week against the Green Bay Packers. They now find themselves in a three-way tie atop the AFC West with Kansas City and Oakland. 

The situation is a little cloudy at running back because both running backs Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews are dealing with injuries. Tolbert (hamstring) is looking like he will be the starting back this week, and is expected to get the bulk of the carries. Mathews left the game on Monday night with a groin injury. Due to the short work week, expect Tolbert to be the workhorse, and Mathews to be the change-of-pace back.

The Packers are allowing 102 yards per game on the ground. Tolbert should pick up the majority of those yards and again, this is a game that the Chargers need. As poor as Phillip Rivers has been throwing lately (is he playing hurt?), you would think that the Chargers want to keep Aaron Rodgers off of the field, and focus on trying to run the ball more this week. That bodes well for Tolbert.

Fantasy advice: start him 

RB to Sit: Ryan Mathews

No reason to get cute or be overly redundant here, but for all of the reasons we just listed in the prior slide on why you want to start Mike Tolbert this weekend, the flip side of that rationale is why it makes sense to sit Ryan Mathews this week. 

Fantasy advice: sit him

RB to Start: Peyton Hillis

The Cleveland Browns running back situation is far from ideal. Montario Hardesty has torn his calf muscle and will be gone for at least two weeks. The Browns are going to turn to Madden-cover boy Peyton Hillis to start this week. 

Hillis has been out himself with a hamstring injury, but he is prepared to play, even though he probably won't be 100 percent for the game. It would be wise to check in later this week to see how well he has survived practices, because he did have a setback earlier this month. 

Basically, the Browns have nobody else reliable to turn to. Hillis has an opportunity to start turning his season around. If you are debating about starting Hillis or anyone running the ball for the Washington Redskins, the advice still holds true. Start Hillis. 

Fantasy advice: start him

EDIT NOTE: on Friday, 11/4, Hillis hurt his hamstring again in practice, and is not projected to play now. 

RB to Sit: Willis McGahee

I have to admit that Willis McGahee has come up with a better year in Denver so far than what I was projecting he would do. But, with regards to McGahee and Week 9, it is a no-brainer call for me, you have to sit him on your bench. Why? 

Well, McGahee expects to play this week with a broken hand, according to the Denver Post. While on the surface it is a noble gesture on McGahee's part, it is just simply not a very practical one.  

McGahee had surgery a week ago. A plate was inserted into his right hand with five pins to keep it in place. Once he starts getting hit on that hand, tries to pass block, or dive for a reception, he will realize that it was a bad idea. Then there is the prospect of the hand being too weak to prevent the ball being stripped away by the Raiders, who love that tactic anyway. I just can't see him excelling in this scenario. 

Fantasy advice: Sit him